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Apple
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Chief Executive Tim Cook issued the tech giant's strongest call for U.S.-wide data-protection regulation, saying "personal information has been" weaponized. "
Mr. Cook's call in a sharply worded speech before a conference of the European Union, which in May enacted the General Data Protection Regulation maker. Mr. Cook told the audience that the U.S. should have a complete understanding of the law that follows their example.
"Our own information-from the everyday to the deeply personal-is being weaponized against military efficiency," Mr. Cook said. "Today, that trade has exploded into a data-industrial complex."
Mr. Cook's comments underscore how he is trying to insulate his company-the largest Silicon Valley firm by market capitalization-from rivals including
Facebook
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and
Alphabet
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Google has had some recent scandals involving access to personal information. It also shows how important it is for tech firms to make their case directly before.
Facebook received an update on Google Analytics, a political data firm. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google had the social data network. Google thing not to disclose the issue earlier this year, after noting the potential for regulatory blowback in an internal memo. Google says it did not disclose the issue in part because it was misused.
Apple has argued that because it makes the bulk of its money by selling devices, rather than advertising, that it has far less incentive to exploit its customers' data. But Mr. Cook went on to Wednesday, likening the data-collection practices of the world-a-business-world-worth of trillions of dollars a year-to-surveillance. It is language more common from privacy activists than tech CEOs.
"These scraps of data are each one of their own, are carefully assembled, synthesized, traded, and sold," Mr. Cook said. "This is monitoring. And these stockpiles of personal data are only for you. This should make us very uncomfortable. "
Apple gets relatively better marks from privacy activists and regulators in Europe Apple devices, according to analysts, But the company also generates $ 5 billion per year.
Some privacy advocates have been warned that this year when Apple said it would store the keys in a secure location and retain control of access data.
Unlike Europe, the U.S. does not have a single piece of comprehensive privacy legislation. Instead, they have a number of other issues, including a package that has recently been enacted over the objections of some tech companies, and federal laws that protect specific types of information, such as health data or financial records.
How the EU's Data Protection Regulation could affect you, even if you do not live in Europe.
Worried that other states could follow California's lead, tech companies have begun pushing for comprehensive federal privacy rules. There are at least three bills floating around the world, and Washington lawmakers and lobbyists expect the issue to be at the forefront of policy discussions over the next year.
Mr. Cook was not alone among tech firms on Wednesday in calling for U.S. legislation. Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, said the company supports comprehensive federal law, and pointed to a set of recommendations issued by the company. Facebook's chief privacy officer Erin Egan said during an interview that it would support comprehensive U.S. privacy law, to applause in the hearing.
Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.), Who has called for data-privacy legislation, said he was supportive
Microsoft
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Apple and others' support of regulation. "American innovation," Sen., "Too often we've heard from companies that depend on intrusive and opaque collection of user data. Warner said in response to Mr. Cook's speech. "Apple and others demonstrate that innovation does not exist when it comes to data protection."
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg also defended his company's targeted advertising model in a prerecorded video address, saying that Facebook's goal is to offer a service to as many people as possible, and his service is paid for by advertising. "You do not need to pay to connect with people who use our services," Mr. Zuckerberg said.
But, in the face of a pre-emptive swipe at rivals, Mr. A spokesperson for Google and a spokesperson for Facebook.
"Technology is and must always be rooted in the people," said Apple chief said. "We also do not know how to make a profit."
-Tripp Mickle contributed to this article.
Write to Sam Schechner at [email protected] and Emre Peker at [email protected]
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